Thursday 24 September 2020

Why I Bought 3 Heathers

Last Saturday  I bought 3 Heathers. I left home with no intention of buying any plants at all. 

And it's all because months ago I gave away the sad Blueberry bushes to my Sis-in-Law and BiL and  also passed on a quarter of a bag of Ericasious compost. Later I remembered it was meant to be used to refresh the huge pot which holds my Camellia. 

So off I go to buy a new bag of compost, they are quite big, which meant I would again be left with some in the bag sitting in the greenhouse but while at the garden centre I noticed their collections of Heathers, which also need Ericasious..........a colourful way to cheer up the winter patio and use some more compost I thought,  but they were in packs of 6 and quite expensive, so I left them.

On the way home I stopped at Tesco, and outside they had lots of individual Heathers, cheaper than the garden centre. Brainwave ........... I could put them in the little planter that I'd emptied of it's dead pansies and stand it on the patio table for the winter.
So I bought 2 small Heathers and one a bit bigger, it  had to be 3  because of the odd number rule when planting. (As per Pat - Weavers - blog post from a couple of weeks ago!)
 
One Problem.................3 plants wouldn't fit in the planter I was planning to use. Never mind, there is another - it's plastic - not as nice as the small stone one , but would do.

When I got round to planting and put my glasses on to read the labels I found............  2 of my new colourful Heathers are FAKE!

I Googled............. What are Painted Heathers? and found................................
 "Painted" or "dyed" heathers are heathers, almost always plants of Calluna vulgaris (ling or Scotch heather), which have been sprayed all over with a dye. Therefore, instead of being the typical darkish green one expects of a living heather, they are garishly coloured: bright, florescent blue, red, yellow, orange and pale green. The dyes used are evidently water- and weatherproof because they do not wash off in rain. The colouring also appears not to fade in sunlight.

Information about the dyes used is difficult to obtain, apart from the general assertion that they are "food dyes".

To be effective, the dye has to be sprayed all over the heather. This treatment cannot be good for a living plant. Any plants I have purchased have been dead within a short time. The dyes are undoubtedly harmful to the plants by inhibiting photosynthesis and transpiration.

"Painted" heathers need the same growing conditions that all Calluna cultivars require: lime-free, moist soil and full sunlight. They are frost-hardy.

These artificially dyed plants are not indoor plants - they should be grown outdoors either planted in a container (tub, window-box) or into a flower-bed. However the garish colours are not appropriate for most garden situations.

What happens next? Providing the heather is alive and lives, new shoots should appear in spring. These will not be coated with the dye so they should be green (or turn green). Gradually the dyed foliage should be shed and a fully green plant will gradually develop.

In short, "painted" or "dyed" heathers are as artificial as plastic flowers - heather enthusiasts should not be tempted to waste money on them.

 So I've got 1 real and 2 fake! and all because I gave away a quarter of a bag of compost!!

Although they look quite good when viewed from the kitchen window.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

29 comments:

  1. Glad you took heed of the odd number Sue but sorry you were taken in by the dyed stuff - I must say I had never heard of it, and always thought calluna vulgaris was just another kind of heather which would grow where erica wouldn;t. I have usually lived in areas where heather didn't thrive - although it does round here - I look out over heather fells.

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    1. As long as they last through the winter I will be happy. I've never had much luck with any Erica in Suffolk - weather is not a bit like Scottish or even Yorkshire moorland!

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  2. Oh, no! I've never heard of dyed heathers and they do look rather lovely on the table. Fingers crossed they will actually be OK.
    xx

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    1. They'll last me through the winter - and I'll see what happens next year

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  3. Hubby is choosing heathers for much the same reason as you, we have a half bag of ericasious compost, we have a empty pot after gifting a neighbour a pot bound plant for her garden.

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    1. How funny that you will be getting some too - hope yours are not fake!

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  4. What an appalling way to treat a plant, and the customer. At least when it's grey and murky in Winter, you will have something bright to look at, and maybe even laugh over.

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    1. I knew that teeny Christmas trees are often sprayed with white die to make them look snowy - but never thought about the heathers

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  5. I am not keen on heather in this part of the country as it seems not its natural habitat but they look colourful enough, fake or not, and will brighten a dull yard on a winter's day.

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    1. I've never had any luck with them in Suffolk - have tried several times in various houses. These will look OK for the winter

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  6. Why do these 'experts' have to mess about with nature? I have bought flowers from supermarkets because they were bright and colourful, only to find out they were dyed. Needless to say I'm more careful now and steer away from ott bright and colourful.

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    1. I should have read the label, I only looked at the colour and the price!

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  7. I was given a dyed orchid, when the flowers died off I cut it back and it has regrown several times with white flowers.

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    1. Good that it keeps growing - I'd not heard of dyed orchids

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  8. Cruelty to heathers - shocking ;)

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    1. I've saved them from being unwatered outside Tesco!

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  9. Aww ... poor heathers!! I was always suspicious of the brightly coloured heathers at supermarkets and garden centres, rightly so it would seem.

    I stopped buying ericaceous compost when our local garden centre owner and friend told me that the cheaper multi-purpose composts were just as good for any plants that need ericaceous. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that just now ... but at least we all now know about the fake heathers ;-)

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    1. I didn't know about the compost - it looks different to multi purpose - too late now as you say

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  10. I always thought the brightly coloured heathers looked odd, but didn't twig that they were dyed. Should have done really, husband knows never to buy me dyed brightly coloured flowers as I think they're an abomination...what's wrong with nature's glory?!

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    1. When it said Painted Heather I didn't realise it really meant Painted Heathers!

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  11. They LOOK pretty anyway, and will renew afresh in the spring. I knew they were dyed, but don't mind them so much as the flowers which have been stuck in a jar of dye to draw it up into them and turn bright blue or whatever. Those I hate, along with the "floral cabbages" - anyone who gave me those in a bunch of flowers would see them chucked on the compost heap pronto!

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only person to think that Floral Cabbages are just so wrong!

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  12. I found out about these fake heathers in exactly the same way by buying them a few years ago. Arilx

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  13. Oh what a bloomin' palava Sue! Never mind...enjoy them for what they are...fancy you being fooled though!! x

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  14. Whatever next! I presumed they were like Leucadendrom ( how DO you spell that!) which come with yellow tips or the more common deep red ones.

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  15. I've never heard of painted plants before - no doubt, something to 'look forward to' in our garden centres in the future.

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  16. The heathers are gorgeous even if two are painted.

    God bless.

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